30 Mind-Blowing Microscopic Images From The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest

The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition, now in its 50th year, celebrates the beauty and science behind the smallest details of our world. Each year, scientists and artists from around the globe submit stunning microscope images that reveal extraordinary views of life on a microscopic scale. From intricate cell structures to fascinating natural phenomena, these images offer a unique glimpse into the hidden world around us.

This year’s winners did not disappoint. First place was awarded to Dr. Bruno Cisterna for his incredible image of mouse brain tumor cells, which sheds light on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and ALS. The 2024 competition continues to highlight how microscopy advances both art and science.

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Image Of Distinction - Zhang Chao

National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, China

"Beach sand."

Nikon Small World Report

84points

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The organizers of Nikon Small World 2024 revealed that judges reviewed entries from around the world to choose the winners. They looked for images that stood out for their originality, the information they showed, technical skill, and visual appeal.

This year, the competition received about 2,100 photos from 80 different countries.

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Laurent Formery And Dr. Nathaniel Clarke

Stanford University
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
Pacific Grove, California, USA

"Nervous system of a young sea star."

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73points

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12th Place - Daniel Knop

Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany

"Wing scales of a butterfly (Papilio ulysses) on a medical syringe needle."

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69points

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Dr. Cisterna’s winning image is not just beautiful—it’s important for science. His work helps us understand how changes in the structure of brain cells may lead to diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS. By capturing this image, Dr. Cisterna gives us a better view of how these diseases work, which could help find treatments in the future. His image truly combines science and art, showing how powerful and meaningful microscopy can be.

"One of the main problems with neurodegenerative diseases is that we don't fully understand what causes them,” said Dr. Cisterna. “To develop effective treatments, we need to figure out the basics first. Our research is crucial for uncovering this knowledge and ultimately finding a cure. Differentiated cells could be used to study how mutations or toxic proteins that cause Alzheimer's or ALS alter neuronal morphology, as well as to screen potential drugs or gene therapies aimed at protecting neurons or restoring their function.”

Image Of Distinction - Timothy Boomer

Vacaville, California, USA

"Slime mold (Prototrichia metallica)."

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65points

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Image Of Distinction - Dr. Håkan Kvarnström

Bromma, Sweden

"Peacock plume feather."

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58points

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“After three years of research, we finally published our findings four months ago in the Journal of Cell Biology, and there's still more work to be done. I’m deeply passionate about scientific imaging; I’ve been following the Nikon Small World contest for about 15 years. It's an incredible contest that highlights the beauty of photomicrography but also inspires continued exploration and innovation in the field," said Dr. Cisterna.

Honorable Mention - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA

"Antenna of a mole crab."

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56points

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Image Of Distinction - Uwe Lange

Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany

"Pollen on the compound eyes of a fly."

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53points

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Second place went to Dr. Marcel Clemens, who captured an electrical arc between a pin and a wire, created by a 10,000-volt charge. Third place was awarded to Chris Romaine for his close-up of a cannabis leaf, showing tiny trichomes and cannabinoid vesicles. These images, along with many others from the 2024 competition, show the beauty and variety of the microscopic world, blending creativity and science in exciting ways.

3rd Place - Chris Romaine

Port Townsend, Washington, USA

"Leaf of a cannabis plant. The bulbous glands are trichomes. The bubbles inside are cannabinoid vesicles."

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52points

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Image Of Distinction - Ted Kinsman

Rochester Institute of Technology
Photosciences Department
Rochester, New York, USA

"A common house cat claw."

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50points

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The 2024 judging panel included:

• Adrian Coakley, Director of Photography at National Geographic Books;

• Michelle S. Itano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology and Director of the Neuroscience Microscopy Core at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;

• Emily Petersen, Photography Managing Editor at Science Magazine;

• Clare Waterman, Ph.D., Cell Biologist and Member of the National Academy of Sciences;

• Jennifer C. Waters, Ph.D., Director of the Core for Imaging Technology & Education at Harvard Medical School;

• Samantha Yammine, Ph.D., Neuroscientist and Science Communicator.

#10

13th Place - Paweł Błachowicz

Bedlno, Świętokrzyskie, Poland

"Eyes of green crab spider (Diaea dorsata)."

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49points

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#11

2nd Place - Dr. Marcel Clemens

Verona, Veneto, Italy

"Electrical arc between a pin and a wire."

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46points

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#12

5th Place - Thomas Barlow And Connor Gibbons

Columbia University
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior
New York, New York, USA

"Cluster of octopus (Octopus hummelincki) eggs."

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46points

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#13

Honorable Mention - Randy Fullbright

Vernal, Utah, USA

"Agatized dinosaur bone."

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46points

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#14

Honorable Mention - Jochen Stern

Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany

"Golden bug eggs on a sage leaf."

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45points

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#15

Honorable Mention - Dr. Bruce Douglas Taubert

Glendale, Arizona, USA

"Ocelli between the compound eyes of a yellow jacket."

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44points

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#16

Image Of Distinction - Thomas Neumann

Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

"Ink dot on Japanese washi paper."

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41points

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#17

6th Place - Henri Koskinen

Helsinki University
Helsinki, Uudenmaan lääni, Finland

"Slime mold (Cribraria cancellata)."

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40points

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Honorable Mention - Daniel Evrard

Aywaille, Liege, Belgium

"Vinyl player needle on scratched vinyl disk."

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40points

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#19

Image Of Distinction - Elkhan Yusifov And Dr. Martina Schaettin

University of Zurich
Department of Molecular Life Sciences
Zurich, Switzerland

"Developing nervous system in the eye of a 7-day-old chick embryo."

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40points

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#20

7th Place - Gerhard Vlcek

Maria Enzersdorf, Austria

"Cross section of European beach grass (Ammophila arenaria) leaf."

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39points

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#21

9th Place - John-Oliver Dum

Medienbunker Produktion
Bendorf, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany

"Pollen in a garden spider (Araneus) web."

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37points

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#22

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Saikat Ghosh

National Institutes of Health
NICHD
Bethesda, Maryland, USA

"Human neurons."

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37points

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#23

Image Of Distinction - Joshua Coogler

Dallas, North Carolina, USA

"Moss sporophyte with spores (green)."

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36points

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Image Of Distinction - Daniel Knop

Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany

"Opening of a hibiscus flower (Hibiscus moscheutos) exposing the pollen in four stages, each ten minutes apart."

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36points

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#25

11th Place - Dr. Ferenc Halmos

Bánd, Veszprém, Hungary

"Slime mold on a rotten twig with water droplets."

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35points

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#26

Image Of Distinction - Daniel Knop

Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, Germany

"Dorsal part of cuckoo wasp (Hedychrum gerstaeckeri) abdomen."

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35points

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#27

Image Of Distinction - Jacek Myslowski

Wloclawek, Kujawko-Pomorskie, Poland

"Water mite (Arrenurus)."

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33points

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#28

16th Place - Marek Miś

Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland

"Two water fleas (Daphnia sp.) with embryos (left) and eggs (right)."

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32points

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#29

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA

"Aster anther cross-section with pollen grains (green)."

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32points

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Image Of Distinction - Dr. Robert Markus

University of Nottingham
School of Life Sciences, Super Resolution Microscopy
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

"Dandelion (Traxacum officinale) cross section showing curved stigma with pollen."

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31points

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Note: this post originally had 87 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

What do you think ?

Mimi La Souris 1 week ago

so interesting ! Thank you so much for this dive into the infinitely small

11points

WindySwede 1 week ago

More of this! 👍

6points

Victoria 1 week ago (edited)

Beautiful. The colors in many of these are artificial of course, but the details are incredible.

5points

Evagating Beewolf (she/they) 1 week ago

Nikonsmallworld.com, if you're wondering. They also do videos. My personal favourites from this year are water droplets evaporating (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/water-droplets-peacock-butterfly-wing-scales), a tardigrade riding a worm (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/baby-tardigrade-and-nematode) and a weirdly soothing video (https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2024-small-world-in-motion-competition/crystallization-of-magnesium-sulfate)

2points

UncleJohn3000 1 week ago

If only the author had given us a banana for scale. 845f3399a0...bd0135.jpg

1point

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/327285097898391026/

0points

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Shark bait hoo haha 1 week ago

I had seen this on another site but it didn't have the information of who took the photos and what it was, thank you for posting that. These are exquisite and a great reminder that the little things in life matter too.

Gavin Johnson 1 week ago

Mother Nature has us beaten hands down, the shapes and colours that are hidden away in tiny form are awesome, even you mould spores!

Shirley D Harnish 1 week ago

Interesting.

Cool crow 1 week ago

We are so lucky, aren't we, to live on such a beautiful little world?

Antoine Chahine 1 week ago

was

i mean waw!

30 Mind-Blowing Microscopic Images From The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest

Image Of Distinction - Zhang Chao

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Laurent Formery And Dr. Nathaniel Clarke

12th Place - Daniel Knop

Image Of Distinction - Timothy Boomer

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Håkan Kvarnström

Honorable Mention - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

Image Of Distinction - Uwe Lange

3rd Place - Chris Romaine

Image Of Distinction - Ted Kinsman

13th Place - Paweł Błachowicz

2nd Place - Dr. Marcel Clemens

5th Place - Thomas Barlow And Connor Gibbons

Honorable Mention - Randy Fullbright

Honorable Mention - Jochen Stern

Honorable Mention - Dr. Bruce Douglas Taubert

Image Of Distinction - Thomas Neumann

6th Place - Henri Koskinen

Honorable Mention - Daniel Evrard

Image Of Distinction - Elkhan Yusifov And Dr. Martina Schaettin

7th Place - Gerhard Vlcek

9th Place - John-Oliver Dum

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Saikat Ghosh

Image Of Distinction - Joshua Coogler

Image Of Distinction - Daniel Knop

11th Place - Dr. Ferenc Halmos

Image Of Distinction - Daniel Knop

Image Of Distinction - Jacek Myslowski

16th Place - Marek Miś

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

Image Of Distinction - Dr. Robert Markus

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Gabrielė Malukaitė

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